Insider Selling: PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Director Sells 2,500 Shares of Stock

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total transaction of $266,125.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at $6,026,879.65. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

PulteGroup Price Performance

NYSE PHM traded up $0.53 on Tuesday, reaching $107.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,326,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,322,451. PulteGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $100.24 and a twelve month high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $21.68 billion, a PE ratio of 7.28, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $114.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.79.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.43 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on PHM shares. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.86.

Institutional Trading of PulteGroup

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 18.4% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 463 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 17.2% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 565 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 1.7% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 5,002 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $718,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 3.0% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,054 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 622 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About PulteGroup

PulteGroup, Inc, through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the homebuilding business in the United States. It acquires and develops land primarily for residential purposes; and constructs housing on such land. The company also offers various home designs, including single-family detached, townhomes, condominiums, and duplexes under the Centex, Pulte Homes, Del Webb, DiVosta Homes, John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods, and American West brand names.